Kat’s world is about as complicated as it can get.  Her new prototype prosthetic is due to start trials this week and her addict twin brother just landed on her doorstep again.  She insists Toby go to group as a condition of staying with her and takes him to a meeting.

At the meeting Toby meets Briggs Dawson, a shifter and former pro football player.  When the football job falls through he joined the army and lost an arm.  Now he’s homeless and suffering from PTSD.

Complications with Kat’s project mean she needs a shifter to test her new arm prosthetic and Briggs reluctantly agrees to help Kat, mostly because of his attraction to her.  He doesn’t need a prosthetic to feel complete.  Kat is attracted too, but she’s been all business for so long.  Does she dare mix business with pleasure just this once?

Battle Scarred is a story with many themes.  Addiction, homelessness, PTSD, personal and professional ethics and romance all have their part in the final blend.  Kat and Briggs are both lost and shut off from their feelings at the beginning but don’t realize it.  Through the story all the characters grow and change in a satisfying way.   I’m a big fan of Becca Fanning’s writing and this new book does not disappoint.